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The Archers excluded as that would be a clear and obvious winner.
However, You and Yours... YOU AND F'KIN YOURS.
Now, the premise is good; consumer goods/services champion magazine show. However Winifred Robinson is singlehandedly the most exasperating and irksome presenter I've ever come across. If there is a higher word then patronising then she is it and I don't know how she does it but she she is more patronising to the consumers she is supporting, rather than the rogue companies.
Peter White is barely any better, he never seems to listen to his interviewees responses which is ironic given he's registered blind!
Any of the programs that involve the public too much. You and yours, any answers etc
What passes for comedy on Radio 4 is universally absolutely bloody dreadful and seems to be the result of someone at the BBC just commissioning gangs of terminally unfunny, insufferably middle class 'Footlights' graduates who they saw at the Edinburgh Fringe.
They've produced some great stuff over the years, which have successfully transferred to TV, but its been a very very long time since they broadcast anything even remotely amusing
What passes for comedy on Radio 4 is universally absolutely bloody dreadful
"Universally"? Bollocks.
Yes, there is some dross. There is in fact some right dross. Clare in the Community, Count Arthur Strong, any one of several dozen other instantly forgettable faux-drama comedies, I've had more hilarious root canal surgery.
But. ISIHAC is a national institution and consistently funny. Cabin Pressure was one of the greatest sitcoms ever created. The Now Show is decent enough, Dead Ringers could be a giggle, and so on and so forth. A lot of the 6:30 slot falls into "why?!" I grant you, but there are some diamonds in the haystack (or something).
its been a very very long time since they broadcast anything even remotely amusing
The Clitheroe Kid ?
Saw thread title, immediately thought of you and yours and Winifred!
Once heard womans hour having dicussion on how difficult it was for "professionals" to find hired help and nannies.
afternoon 'play', terrible always and so the wireless is switched off...
came on to post you and yours. Utterly ghastly
But possibly trumped by the Round Britain Quiz. Smugness oozing out of the radio and broadcast only so the friends and family of the 'teams' get to hear their relative waffling on the radio
The Clitheroe Kid ?
Oooh, flipping heck! I thought I was old!
afternoon ‘play’,
Sometimes there are absolute gems, an Alan Bennet where he played god, answering peoples prayers that came in by fax machine. I apologise to my employer for stopping in a layby to make sure I heard it til the end.
I don't understand why PM and Six o'clock News are separate programs.
News in depth , followed immediately by News Summary. Just seems odd.
Something Understood.
I never understand it.
I get quite irritated by Money Box, as the stories are always something like "I was told in an unsolicited text message that if I invested my life savings in panda urine futures I'd double my money in three hours, and now I have nothing" or "I took out a bank account and in the terms I signed up to it said that I'd be charged if I went overdrawn, and now I've gone overdrawn and they've charged me".
A lot of the daytime output appears to be designed to keep unfunny comedians from the 'improv' era, and hammy voice actors in employment.
Trying to find something decent on BBC Radio at 2pm on a weekday is always a challenge, even though Steve Wright has buggered off now.
They should just put their documentaries on a loop.
The Clitheroe Kid
Oh, what was the one with the Northern family? The Braithwaites or something similar? That could be amusing.
But. ISIHAC is a national institution and consistently funny.
Agreed. And thought up how long ago? 50 years?
A lot of the 6:30 slot falls into “why?!” I grant you
Thats what I was specifically referring to really. I often end up with it on after listening to PM and think 'for the love of god, how the **** did this dross get commissioned?'
Fair.
Trying to find something decent on BBC Radio at 2pm on a weekday is always a challenge, even though Steve Wright has buggered off now.
Nihal Arthanayake on Five Live. Without a doubt the most intelligent and thorough journalist on BBC radio. Think of him as the polar opposite of a moron like Adrian Chiles. Really goes in depth in the subjects he covers, gets some really knowledgable guests on and really does his homework. They're presently discussing climate change. Well worth a listen
Nihal Arthanayake on Five Live.
I know, that's where I've ended up mostly. Occasionally there is some blanket coverage of a not-great-on-radio sport - tennis for example - to avoid though.
I'm puerile enough to enjoy the Elis James and John Robins show though. Always makes me giggle.
I absolutely love Ellis and John! One of the best things on the radio
As for sport... Tennis, Golf or F1 on the radio? Just WHY?!!
quote / unquote
what the flinking blip is it for?
Trying to find something decent on BBC Radio at 2pm on a weekday is always a challenge, even though Steve Wright has buggered off now.
When IHN was complaining about Money Box just now I was immediately put in mind of Jeremy Vine. I don't really mind him as a presenter generally but he asks his guests the most inconceivable bollocks imaginable. I think he fancies himself as a bit of a weekday shock jock but it's as though the target audience is people too intellectually devoid to appreciate The One Show.
There's a Dara O'Briain sketch where he says something like, "... and then they'll turn away from the expert and interview Barry" and that's the Vine Show writ large. He'll ask a question like "well, what would you say to people who would suggest [something very tenuously linked to what the expert has been explaining but utterly detached from reality, like chemtrails or something]?" and once, just once, please the gods for the love of all that's good in the world I desperately long for a guest to reply "well Jeremy, I'd say they're a ****ing cretin who probably shouldn't be let out of the house without adult supervision."
quote / unquote
what the flinking blip is it for?
This.
We mostly gave up on R4 a while back. 5 is generally tolerable, at least it's not pretending to be something it isn't. Used to enjoy Dotun while living abroad (time zone meant he was daytime for us then).
@cougar - are you thinking of The Bradshaws (which was never on R4)?
The Clitheroe Kid was on from April 1957 until August 1972.
If you think you and yours is bad you've obviously never had the misfortune of being slow to the off button when the moral maze comes on.
Edit: dead ringers di a very good send up of you and yours once complaining that modern underwear kept getting twisted.
Gardeners' Question Time. Like a radio version of Question of Sport, unfunny people trying to be funny.
On a positive note all 10 episodes of Jonathan Pie are available on BBC Sounds at the moment.
Moral maze can be good can be bad generally ok to good.
In our time is one of the best day time shows for crash course on key ideas, people, books. Brilliant.
Woman's Hour - trying to find female angles when there really are none. Would be better off merging with You and Yours. Was in the afternoon backwater years ago and moved forwards to prime time. News quiz is decent humour. The Now show consistent and even Dead Ringers can be entertaining. I can't stand Just a Minute though.
Trying to find something decent on BBC Radio at 2pm on a weekday is always a challenge,
Radio 3 Afternoon Concert, if I am not in meetings. Will be lots of Proms replays for a while.
12-1 is Composer of the Week, which is normally informative. Samuel Barber this week. Can be padded with overly long segments when there isn't a lot to say, but other times can be amazing with interviews with the composer.
As for sport… Tennis, Golf or F1 on the radio? Just WHY?!!
Because you are blind and the descriptions are vastly better than the TV you cannot see? I mean, why read a book when you can watch a film 😉 Some of the tennis commentating is very skilled. But slower sports do lend themselves (TMS and Golf).
you’ve obviously never had the misfortune of being slow to the off button when the moral maze comes on.
Do they still have that idiot David Starkey on, or has he been shit-canned now?
Gardeners’ Question Time. Like a radio version of Question of Sport, unfunny people trying to be funny.
Keen gardeners confessing to planting hydrangeas in the wrong soil/shade combo will never not be hilarious.
Radio 3 Afternoon Concert, if I am not in meetings. Will be lots of Proms replays for a while.
I know I should be more up to date with my culture, but every time I turn on Radio 3 it seems to be some kind of dissonant Macedonian tone-poem from about 1950.
R4 comedy-wise, as well as ISIHAC, I think John Finnimore's Souvenir Programme is possibly the cleverest, funniest sketch show I've ever heard. I also quite like the Unbelievable Truth, compered by David 'Ubiquitous' Mitchell, and the recent Mark Watson standup thing (I forget what it was called) was also good. It's on Sounds at the mo tho.
There is a *lot* of dross though, but to be fair that goes for any and every media type there has ever been.
As long as there's at least something for me I'm happy 🙂
@slowol The Moral Maze sends my wife into paroxysms of rage. In her words, Burke was just about liveable when he was rescuing horses from bogs, or kids impaled on school railings.
@cougar – are you thinking of The Bradshaws (which was never on R4)?
I believe you're correct, yes.
So where the hell did I hear it if not R4?!
I think John Finnimore’s Souvenir Programme is possibly the cleverest, funniest sketch show I’ve ever heard.
John Finnimore is just great generally. See also the aforementioned Cabin Pressure.
@cougar The family was created for The Gary Davies Show with Gary Davies on Piccadilly Radio in 1983. The series can be heard as a strand of the Billy Butler show on BBC Radio Merseyside, on the Chorley-based Station Chorley FM, and on 7 Waves Radio 92.1. The show is now also played on 94.4FM Salford City Radio, Tameside Radio 103.6 FM, Cheshire's Canalside Radio 102.8fm, Crewe and Nantwich based station The Cat 107.9 FM and Wythenshawe FM 97.2
I don't think I've ever listened to any of those stations. Preston-based (and wildly-inaccurately named) Rock FM perhaps, or Radio Lancashire.
(Also, I thought "Chorley FM" was a fictional station dreamt up by Peter Kay. Every day's a school day.)
'Any Answers' if that's the one where they give a load of gammons a chance to whinge about immigrants then it seems a sensible way of letting them sound off in an echo chamber. The poor presenter!
I think even worse than Money Box, is Money Box Live.
The afternoon play is almost always unlistenable
The Archers (obvs)
The Today programme
Woman's Hour
In fact the whole schedule beyond the News from Friday afternoon until Monday morning
Various programmes already mentioned have me diving wildly for the tuner or just a hammer to permanently disable the radio (Any Answers), but other notable horrors:
- Poetry Please - argh!
- Open Book - should be good, never is.
As above, anything with poet or poetry in the title. Round Britain Quiz must be the only quiz show that has zero interest to anyone expect the contestants.
Also Kitchen Cabinet, and that other one with that Rayner bloke. Pretensive bollocks or what.
Woman’s Hour – trying to find female angles when there really are none. Would be better off merging with You and Yours.
This +1
It's a valid premise for a program, but the production is sometimes just plain awful. They really need to focus on an actual women's issue, not just shoehorn an angle into another news story. They could drop it altogether in favor of a generally underrepresented hour if they can't fill enough episodes.
Agree with most of the above. The plays in particular are often dreadful. Especially any where the same half dozen hammy actors they always use have to attempt an American accent. Or any accent come to think of it. On comedy, they've done a few I enjoy, 'it's a fair cop' with Alfie Moore and 'Mark Steel's in town' spring to mind, but not much else recently.
I'll listen to just about the full range of R4 output, and find it generally OK, but 'Kitchen Kabinet' has me reaching for the off switch as I can't stand the tidal wave of smugness that issues forth from the radio.
I can't stand many of the current affairs or phone in shows (You & Yours, World at 1, PM immediately followed by the 6 o'clock news) and a lot of the comedy is absolute dross.
But why would you bother listening to it like that when Sounds exists? Just line up what you do like using the queue and listen to the good dramas (sadly, they tend to be the ones without regional English accents), the excellent comedy that does exist and the fascinating documentaries. I mean, how many of you still watch whatever's on the TV instead of what you actually like?
Fair point. Five Live in particular has loads of absolutely top notch podcasts
Dead Ringers is awful, I'm quite enjoying the Archers now Rob T is back on the programme.
Amazed that the unbelievably awful Saturday morning show with the creepy vicar hasn't been mentioned - smug middle class anecdotes, twee presenters, and a heavy input from members of the public. Ugh.
TBF at least with Gardener's Question Time and Kitchen Cabinet you know what you're getting: if you're not gardener or a foodie, you're not going to like it.
Sometimes there are absolute gems, an Alan Bennet where he played god,
Bill Nighy in "Vongole" too.
Radio 4 goes off during:
Gardeners question time - boring
Afternoon play - nearly always boring
ISIHGAC - smug
Moral maze - Melanie Philips might be on it and my head might explode
The Archers, by a country mile. Then any questions/answers.
I quite like 'sliced bread' though.
Amazed that the unbelievably awful Saturday morning show with the creepy vicar hasn’t been mentioned – smug middle class anecdotes, twee presenters, and a heavy input from members of the public
Not just me then that finds the vicar from the communards very irritating.
Generally, I've solved my dislike of most Radio 4 output by not listening to it. BBC Sounds is there for the occasional gem.
In our time with Melvyn Bragg. I invariably find his experts beyond irritating. Especially the one that pronounced turquoise Tor—kwazz.
I listen to R4 almost all day at work and a lot of the weekend. Yes there is some utter dross and some very poor/annoying presenters. But you only have to switch to local radio to realise that, on the whole, R4 (and R3) are pretty damn good.
Is there one single R4 program that hasn't been nominated yet??
And lastly does anyone remember Ida Barr's Artificial Hip Hop? or did I dream it? I'm sure it was a series late at night a few years back
Women's Hour: The last bastion of unchallenged sexism, promoting dubious undergrad level research (ask leading questions to an unbelievably small sample, don't challenge the results, and then claiming vast incite).
That ten minute programme on Sunday morning just before it gets seriously religious and even I have to turn the radio off (anyone describing themselves as a controversialist should be taken out and shot along with a significant proportion of the people phoning any answers).
The Food Programme (Feeding the minds of unbearable snobs)
Without a doubt, Today - just a bunch of right wing nut jobs lobbing soft questions to other right wing nut jobs.
Without a doubt, Today
Or Toady, as Steve Bell rightly pointed out
I used to be an avid listener. Weekending with Sally Grace was very good (apparently the team would meet in a BBC room and smoke weed for hours on end knocking up the jokes), From Our Own Correspondent, Media Show, Ned Sherrin and I even listened to the Archers. Now it doesn't even occur to me to switch it on, Kitchen Cabinet makes me want to vomit and the comedy stuff is really weak. Just strikes me as a bunch of chums overpromoting each other.
The vicar from the Communards was randomly sacked a few months ago after quite a few years service for being too old the wrong kind of gay not quite the thing no idea why. Shame really as whilst I hated that awful Saturday program I quite liked him.
Today program very much depends on the presenter but there was a classic earlier this week when one of the patronising presenters clearly was annoyed at having to do a piece on the Barbie movie and hadn't done her homework - I think she thought it was Disney guff or something and basically the 'pro' guest ( young Gen z journo) and the 'anti' guest (emeritus professor of something worthy) totally agreed on its merits and were both going to go see it - leaving our presenter struggling for a comeback
+1000 for anything John Finemore . Also Alexei Sayles Sandwich Bar… and more recently the train journeys is good.
There’s heaps of good R4 comedy if you look for it.
I only use Sounds so never listen to R4 live, therefore don’t listen to bad stuff.
The Clitheroe Kid ?
Oooh, flipping heck! I thought I was old!
I am, but as it ran from April 1957 until August 1972, (thank you, Mr Sparkles), and I was born in ‘54, then I would have had it inflicted on me at some point in my formative years.
The vicar from the Communards was randomly sacked a few months ago after quite a few years service for being too old the wrong kind of gay not quite the thing no idea why.
I had to look this up. He wasn't fired for any of these reasons (or for being terrible imvho). The production moved to Cardiff and he didn't want to do it any more.
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/22/it-just-feels-a-bit-sad-the-rev-richard-coles-disappointed-at-rushed-bbc-radio-4-exit?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
But why would you bother listening to it like that when Sounds exists? Just line up what you do like using the queue
Most of my listing is while driving. I am just off and don't want to burn though data
Used to like Count Arthur Strong years ago, but it did run out of steam, can't believe it got a TV series, that was even worse!
Some of the afternoon plays I think have been very good over the years, Prayer for Owen Meany always stuck in my mind and Pilgrim is fantastic.
But, Any Answers...........Jesus christ.......
The other annoying thing with R4 is the ratio of arts programs to everything else. It's like all the commissioning editors are white, male Oxbridge graduates.
Oh, wait a minute .....
Most of my listing is while driving. I am just off and don’t want to burn though data
You can download it.
But, Any Answers………..Jesus christ……
The should just rename it Racist Pensioner Hour then everyone knows exactly what they’re getting
The vicar from the Communards was randomly sacked a few months ago after quite a few years service for being too old the wrong kind of gay not quite the thing no idea why. Shame really as whilst I hated that awful Saturday program I quite liked him.
when my wife worked in care, his parents were part of her round. They and Him were very nice apparently.
Woman’s hour. It’s fundamentally sexist
Woman’s hour. It’s fundamentally sexist
So is the BBC Asian network fundamentally racist?
I'm not a devoted R4 listener by any means, but I'd agree that the comedy usually seems unfunny and the drama seems stilted, cliched and dull.
I do suspect there's an element of jobs for the (posh) boys and girls, with R4 commissioners giving work to their pals for content that nobody really wants.
In terms of annoying presenters, can I just mention Justin Webb, who is probably a nice guy but comes across as a pompous windbag a lot of the time.
In our time with Melvyn Bragg.
The way he talks too fast in a monotone makes it impossible for me to engage with it.
Nothing wrong with having loads of arts programs. It is R4 not 6 music after all and the arts are woefully neglected in the UK, being regarded as unimportant by this philistine government. Criticism could be levelled if all the arts discussed and reviewed are only accessible to white middle class people but I’m not sure that’s the case.
you and yours. Not just because the host likes to talk over people with often a condescending tone, but because of the phones. It seems like it's 50/50 if the phone connection is crap and you get the back and forth of deciding if the caller is actually there.
I genuinely don’t get the point of vox pop / any answers / phone in shows. Throughout my life I’ve met hundreds of people who have interesting, diverse views and can give a relatively informed response to a well thought out question - so why is it that literally every phone in or person in the street asked a question just spouts the last thing they read in the mail or on their local town facebook page? How do they find so many idiots? And why? What’s the point of it?
Though for the Day - 5 minutes of poor sermonising followed by a contrived link to a prayer. Prayer for the Day (the early morning one) is much better in my atheist opinion.
Loads of good R4 content being dismissed above. Can't be bothered to argue any individual case... so just going to post...
Which radio station produces better comedy or factual magazine content?
In our time with Melvyn Bragg, lots of words all mixed up in an order that makes them unintelligible to my ears..
In Our Time is heavy listening. And sometimes you're just not interested in 15th century salmon farming.